A brief overview: In the past decade, there has been an increasing desire of young people to live near city centers, a trend that is poised to continue coming out of the pandemic. But even with the rapid development of life in the suburbs, downtown living never lost its shine. In fact, according to our latest study, the country’s major cities experienced a resurgence of apartment construction in their downtown areas over the last decade. 

Downtown Houston itself has undergone a tremendous revival over the past decade and ranks third in the country for fast-growing downtown living, by the number of downtown apartments built. It added no less than 15,600 new apartments to its downtown area in the last ten years, and the new units make up roughly 63% of the total existing stock. Construction activity doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, as an additional 2,700 units are currently under construction to be completed in the next couple of years.

Looking ahead, Yardi Matrix business intelligence manager Doug Ressler expects the downtown apartment boom to continue, especially as the cost of construction makes new single-family homes increasingly out of reach for many people. “Multifamily properties present a far more appealing alternative, especially for busy professionals who seek both comfort and convenience in their housing choices,” he said. “The compromise on space, which often accompanies urban living, is easily addressed today, as self storage is widely available in most locations.”

Here's our full ranking and dataset: https://www.storagecafe.com/blog/southern-us-takes-the-lead-for-downtown-apartment-construction/